FORGING AHEAD IN UNCERTAIN TIMES

 I recently plunked down 1k$ (Canadian) to register for Ironman Canada. when this race returned to Pentiction I immediately wanted to give it a go for my 4th time, however with the steep price I was slow on the draw and it filled up in 24 hours leaving me out in the cold. That was for the 2020 race, which got cancelled in the pandemic pandemonium. All the entries for that year got transferred to 2021, yet for some reason they opened up some spots, hence my pulling the trigger a little quicker this time and getting in.

The way this pandemic and wildly inconsistent policies are going there is a very good chance that the race won't go even though it isn't until the very end of the summer, August 29. I'm hopeful that the race organizers will find a way to make it work. Of course I was hopeful we'd have a skimo race season in 2021, so much so that I bought a new pair of skis and bindings costing 1.5k$. 

So the question I asked of myself, "Did I waste money by registering (and getting new race skis)?" My answer is no. The reasoning is that the power of hope is worth spending the money. When I bought the skis I fully believed that we'd have a race season, but even so I must have had doubts because my training motivation was waning. I felt that I needed a shot of motivation and a sparkling new pair of skis for a time actually provided that boost. 

Same thing for Ironman. I know there's a good chance that the race will be cancelled, but I want...I NEED to have hope. Hope that life can still have fun and challenging outlets like a 3.8KM swim-180KM bike and 42KM run. 

In so many ways training brings intentionality to my life. It brings lessons of life learning. It makes connection with other extreme training people and I like how my body feels when it's in top shape. But to fully engage my heart, mind and body into a training regimen I need to have a goal and a purpose. Registering for Ironman Canada 2021 is serving that purpose for me. So even if the entry fee gets burned, it'll be worth it. Disappointing for sure, but let's hope it doesn't come to that.